Title: 9000 Kilometers Away

Los Angeles, California

"Hi. I have a 4:00 appointment."

The girl with dyed pink hair and copious face piercings glanced away from her magazine and up at him disinterestedly. "With who?" She asked

Ichigo had forgotten the name. He was notoriously bad with names. "I…don't remember. Inu? Something like that. One second. I think I wrote it down."

The new Los Angeles resident swung a backpack full of medical textbooks and notes off of his shoulder and onto the reception desk. He began to search through his bag for his appointment book, a gift from his father. His father had placed it in his carry on when he wasn't looking. In his father's loud scrawl, if scrawl could be loud, was a note. 'YOU'RE NOT READY TO LEAVE YOUR FATHER'S BOSOM! KEEP TRACK OF YOUR LIFE IN THIS UNTIL YOU GIVE UP AND COME HOME!

The girl signaled for him to stop by raising a hand. "Orihime Inoue?"

He would never get used to the English tradition of given name first. After twenty two years in Japan, the country's culture was fully engrained in him. However, he definitely did not miss the honorifics. He had rarely used them, despite the fact it made people think he was rude.

"Yeah, I think that's her." He replied, gathering his things and zipping his backpack back up.

"She sent a text. She's running late." The receptionist explained before allowing her attention to return to her magazine.

"Do you know how late?" He asked.

The girl looked at him irritably. "If you don't want to wait the door is right behind you."

'And to think I was told people in Los Angeles were so nice they seem fake.' "No, I'll wait. Thanks for being so helpful." He retorted sarcastically, heading to a seat in the corner.

He threw his backpack into a vacant seat beside him and looked around the tattoo shop.

It was fairly small. In the lobby where he was currently waiting, there were around 10 plastic lawn chairs assembled along the wall. A coffee table covered in graffiti sat in the center of the room. Tattoo design folders sat upon the coffee table, but he knew exactly what he wanted so he didn't bother to glance through them. Pictures of clients' tattoos adorned the walls. Ichigo had checked out the work online, and he recognized many of the photos from the tattoo shop's website. The receptionist's desk was placed in front of a doorway. There was no door in said doorway, instead beads partitioned the lobby from the main tattoo area.

Ichigo tried not to get nervous as he heard the distinct sound of a tattoo needle through the doorway. At least no one was screaming. Or crying. He hoped he wouldn't be the first.

A girl burst through the door. She was panting slightly as she made her way over to the receptionist, indicating that she must have run to the tattoo shop.

She had long auburn hair that reminded him of the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. Although she would be considered petite in stature, she had a very curvy figure. She was dressed modestly in a simple dark green blouse and denim shorts worn over black tights, but he could still see that she was stacked.

The receptionist said something to the girl and pointed at him. She turned to look at him and he got his first good look at her face. His first thought was that she had pretty eyes. Of course, the rest of her face was just as attractive, but the eyes really jumped out at him. They were a slightly lighter brown than his own, and much more expressive than his. When she smiled at him, her eyes lit up as well.

"Kurosaki Ichigo? Nice to meet you!" She exclaimed in Japanese, extending her hand for a handshake.

He stood up to accept her handshake. His larger hand easily engulfed her's, and he made sure to shake gently. "Nice to meet you too. Man, it feels like forever since I've spoken in Japanese."

She smiled again. "Yeah, that tends to happen here. I do stream Laugh Hour every week though, and I like to talk to the host, but he obviously doesn't respond so this is really nice!"

He smirked and looked at her questioningly. Talking to the TV? Not exactly normal, but if she was facing as much culture shock as he was maybe it was excusable to be a little off.

"Ready to go back? Sorry I'm late. I came from my other job." She explained

He grabbed his backpack. "No problem. I wasn't waiting long."

She led him through the bead partition into the tattoo room. There were four chairs set up, and only one was occupied. A teenaged blonde girl was fighting back tears as a friend held her hand comfortingly. The blonde winced as the needle dug into her skin.

Her tattoo artist, an older Latino man, glanced up as the newcomers entered the room. "Hey Red!" He greeted cheerfully in English.

"Hello Jorge!" she responded just as gleefully. "We're right here." She informed Ichigo as she gestured to the nearest chair, switching back to Japanese effortlessly. Living in Los Angeles for the last month had improved his English markedly, but he definitely wasn't on the level where he could switch between the two languages effortlessly yet.

Ichigo sat on the chair, which reminded him of the patient chairs in his father's clinic, and shifted uncomfortably. This felt a lot more real now that he was here. In the chair. About to get his first tattoo.

Orihime must have noticed his unease. "You know, before we do anything permanent, I make a sketch and we put that on you like a temporary tattoo. And if you don't like it we can fix it." She explained.

He nodded. "Ok. That sounds good."

Orihime grabbed her sketch pad from a table beside the chair. "So, what are you getting?"

"A name in Hiragana characters. Masaki. On my right chest. I'm thinking right over my heart." He explained.

Orihime nodded as she began to sketch. She paused momentarily to ask a question. "My boss told me you asked for me by name. How did you find out about me?"

"I asked my friend Renji if he knew any Japanese tattoo artists in L.A. He gave me your name. He said you're good." She had gone back to sketching, and from what he could tell from the semi-formed sketch, Renji hadn't been lying.

Orihime's eyes lit up as she stopped sketching to look at him. "How is Abarai-kun? I really have not kept in touch like I should with everyone in Japan."

"He's good. He owns his own tattoo shop in Karakura. He worked really hard to get it so I'm excited for him."

Orihime finished her sketch and flipped the book so he could see the final product. "What do you think?"

She had gone with a simple script, and the Hiragana characters were clear. He had been worried about letting an American tattoo artist do the Hiragana characters. Although he could have written it out and just had them copy it, without actually being able to read the characters they could have easily made a small mistake that changed the meaning. As a native Japanese speaker, Orihime had not made any mistakes. "Looks good." He replied.

"Then let's see it on your skin." She began to cut the sketch out from the page.

Ichigo removed his white t-shirt, balling it up and tossing it into his backpack.

Orihime finished cutting out the sketch and gently placed it on his chest. Orihime carefully applied a wet cloth evenly over the special tattoo paper, allowing the ink to soak onto his skin.

"So Kurosaki-kun, what do you do?" He was about to answer, but she interrupted. "Let me guess!" She eyed him up and down and paused to ponder. At least, her eyes looked like they were pondering. He vaguely thought he would like to learn what other emotions and actions her eyes could express. "You're a personal trainer." She stated confidently.

He smirked apologetically, not wanting to tell her she was wrong. "No. I'm a student actually." He felt the need to add on to his answer. "I'm starting medical school in August. I want to be a surgeon. What made you guess personal trainer?"

She blushed and averted her eyes. "Umm…your aura. And your abs. Mostly your abs."

"My..aura?" He reiterated.

She nodded excitedly. "I am really good at reading auras!" She frowned. "Usually. I'm a little off my game today." She finally removed her hands from his chest, he kind of missed the contact, and peeled off the paper. She grabbed a hand mirror from the table. "What do you think?"

He looked into the small mirror. It looked good. Just what he wanted. "I like it." He responded.

She beamed. "I'm glad!" She picked up the tattoo gun. "Ready?"

He really didn't want to look like a wimp. Especially in front of a pretty girl. But he was not ready. He was nowhere near ready. She seemed to sense his distress. Maybe she was good at reading auras. Or maybe he was just scared shitless and it was obvious to everyone.

"Kurosaki-kun, I didn't mean to rush you. If you need some time, that's fine. And if you don't want to get it, that's fine too." She insisted.

He shook his head vehemently. "No, I'm getting it. I just need a minute."

She nodded. The two sat in a tense silence, the only noise the other tattoo gun working away on the blonde client.

Orihime was very uncomfortable with awkward silences. She was the type of person who filled silences with amusing anecdotes, whimsical stories, personal observations, or personal questions. She decided to go with the latter.

"So Kurosaki-kun, who is Masaki?" She questioned, watching his reaction carefully.

He had gotten lost in his thoughts and started slightly at the sound of her voice. He looked at her for several moments before looking away. "She's my mom. Was my mom."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It was a long time ago. 15 years next week."

"And what made you want to get the tattoo now?" She asked softly.

His expression softened. "I'm not going to be able to go to the cemetery on the anniversary. My family goes every year, rain or shine. But I just put three month's rent down and I paid for a flight out here last month. There's no way I could afford a round trip ticket back home right now." He explained.

"Your father won't help?" She asked.

"I'm sure he would. I don't want to ask. I'm 22. Out of the house. Out of the country! I'm trying to take care of myself." He responded.

She nodded. "Makes sense. I try to take care of myself too, but it is nice having an aunt who will help me if I really need it."

He sighed. "After this tattoo he definitely won't want to help me though. He has expressly forbidden it. I wanted to get one at 18, but he was helping pay for college so I had to listen to him." He smirked wryly. "But now that I'm out of the house the old man can't tell me what to do."

She giggled at the determined look on his face. "Did you tell him you were getting your mom's name? He might actually like it!"

Ichigo shook his head. "He's stuck in the 1800s. He says I'll never be able to get a job as a doctor with a tattoo. Not sure if he thought I was getting it on my forehead or something."

She giggled again and he smiled. He liked making her laugh.

He relaxed into the chair. "Ok Inoue. I think I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" She pressed.

"Well, now that you mention it, can I trust a tattoo artist with no tattoos?" He teased.

"I have two tattoos!" She exclaimed, placing up two fingers in a victory sign. "They're just tiny. And mostly hidden. I'm not really good at commitment and permanency, so I could never do super visible tattoos like Abarai-kun." She lifted her hair and turned her back to him, exposing a small blue-green dragonfly on the back of her neck. She allowed her hair to fall back into place before standing and facing him. She lifted her shirt to expose her right rib cage, just under where he assumed her bra would be. Not that he was necessarily thinking about her bra. Or her breasts. He mentally chastised himself and focused on the tattoo she was trying to show him. It was a small golden fairy.

He nodded approvingly. "Good. Then I can trust you. What are the stories behind those?"

She sat back on the stool and put gloves on her hands. "I got the fairy when I moved to London for college. I like fairies. They can fly so they are never tied down anywhere!"

"And the dragonfly?" He asked.

She smiled sadly. "That was my first tattoo. I was only 16, but they aren't really strict about that in Tokyo. It's in memory of my older brother Sora. He died when I was 12. We used to go down by the riverbank and catch dragonflies." She paused. "Well, Sora used to catch dragonflies. I was always too impatient and jittery. They wouldn't land on me. But Sora could just put his finger out and bam! Dragonfly. Every time I see a dragonfly I think of my brother. So I decided to get the tattoo."

"Why did you put it in a place you can't see?" Ichigo asked curiously.

She smiled again, but her eyes looked far away. "It's like Sora that way. I can't see him, but I know he is always there."

She had finished all the preparations. "Ready?" She questioned.

He nodded resolutely.

She turned on the tattoo gun and tenderly dug it into his skin.

He held his composure for the first few seconds. But fuck, it really hurt. He gritted his teeth, trying not to externally express his pain. But after a few more seconds he couldn't hold it in. "Shit, this is way worse than I thought it would be."

She didn't look up at him, focusing intently on the tattoo. "The chest always hurts. It is better if you have some fat, but you're all lean muscle. Sorry. Let me know if you need a break! But in my experience, it is better to power through."

"God damn it." He clenched his fist. "I just need something to distract me. Say something." He pleaded.

"Did you see Laugh Hour last week?" She asked.

He shook his head, before realizing she couldn't see the gesture. "No. I'll pick a topic. What's your other job you came from?"

She turned off the needle, wiping away the blood with a medical cloth. He glanced down. The first character was outlined. She raised her brown eyes to look at him after tossing the blood stained cloth into a trashcan. "I work at Cal Tech. In the jet propulsion lab." She must have noted the surprise on his face. She shrugged. "I want to be an astronaut. I'm starting my Phd program in Space Engineering there in September."

"Huh. Beautiful and smart." He replied. She blushed, averting her eyes back to the tattoo and turning the tattoo gun back on. He smirked. He usually wasn't flirty. He blamed the blood loss. And the fact that she was just so fun to rile up.

He winced when the needle returned to his skin, starting the outline of the second character. "Where do you go to school Kurosaki-kun?" She asked.

"UCLA. They offer a really great international scholarship for their medical school. I'm still going to need a job for living expenses, but tuition is taken care of."

"UCLA is a great school. Right by the beach! That's the major drawback of Cal Tech. It is very inland." She replied

"I doubt I'll be spending a lot of time at the beach. I'm going to have lots of studying to do." He winced again when she hit an especially tender part of his chest.

"Sorry." She apologized, noticing the wince. "You can study on the beach!"

"True." He admitted. She finished the outline of the second character and once again wiped away the blood.

He looked down at the semi-formed tattoo, glad it was almost over. This hurt more than getting punched by Tatsuki at karate.

"Now we just need to fill it in!" She chirped happily.

"That's gonna hurt, isn't it?" He asked reluctantly, not really wanting to know the answer.

She nodded apologetically. "It probably will. But it won't take long. Just hang in there Kurosaki-kun! You're doing super well. I cried during both my tattoos." She admitted.

He steeled himself when she raised the tattoo gun to his chest once more. He was glad when she started speaking again, it was a welcome distraction from the pain.

"How do you like Los Angeles so far?" She asked.

"It's definitely different. There are days when I feel pretty alone. I mean, I'm 9000 kilometers away from everyone I've ever known. But this is a good opportunity. I'll probably go home once I finish school though. I'm missing my family and friends more than I expected to." He answered. "What do you think of Los Angeles? How long have you been here?" He asked,

"Only three months. But I like it here! The weather is amazing! Especially compared to where I came from. I moved here from London after college. And before that I was attending a boarding school in Tokyo. After my brother died, my aunt financially took care of me, but she didn't really want to raise me. So before the high school boarding school in Tokyo, I went to a middle school boarding school in Osaka. So I'm pretty used to moving around. I actually don't like to stay in one place too long. It makes me antsy. I guess I just have a wandering soul."

"So you don't think you'll ever settle down?" He asked.

She would have shrugged, but she needed to keep the tattoo gun steady as she filled in the characters. "Not anytime soon. I have a lot of things I'd like to do. It'd be great if I found someone who would want to go with me, but not everyone likes to wander."

"My mom used to say not all that wander are lost." He replied

She smiled. "My brother used to say that too. All done!" She turned off the tattoo gun and wiped away the rest of the blood. "There's a full length mirror over there." She gestured to the corner of the room.

Ichigo hopped off the table and walked over to the mirror. It looked great. He had some concerns that he would regret this when all was said and done, but he definitely didn't. He felt it was a fitting tribute to his mother. He snapped a photo of the mirrored image of himself to send to Karin and Yuzu. They had both been supportive of the idea.

He returned to the chair to grab his stuff. Orihime was waiting expectantly. "What do you think?" She asked.

He smiled at her. "I love it. Thank you."

She positively glowed at the praise. "I'm glad you like it!"

He put his shirt back on. "Am I supposed to tip you? I find American tipping really confusing. I went on a date with this girl from my apartment complex and I didn't tip the waiter. Because I had no idea I was supposed to. She called me cheap. Doesn't want to go out with me again."

She laughed. "It is so confusing! If you were to try to tip someone in Japan, it would be insulting to them! In Europe they don't tip either. I don't accept tips. My Japanese ancestors would be proud."

He smiled, slipping his backpack back on. "If you won't let me tip you, how about you let me take you out to dinner? You can show me some of the good food places around here. I eat half my meals at In-N-Out, which can't be healthy."

"You definitely won't be able to keep your abs eating like that." She chastised playfully.

"Is that a yes?" He asked.

She blushed, but nodded. "I know a great ramen place nearby!"

She led the way out the tattoo shop, chatting animatedly all the way. She gripped his hand when she almost lost him in the crowded boardwalk. He glanced down at their intertwined hands as he halfway listened to what she was saying. Suddenly, 9000 kilometers away from the only place he had ever known, he felt at home.

….

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A/N: The end! This is a one shot series that will be five chapters since it is based on the five lifetimes one love concept. Please review and let me know what you thought!